By Dan Ambrose: Oscar De La Hoya says Canelo Alvarez needs to be careful in choosing his next opponent because what he observed of him in his last fight against John Ryder is that he’s the tail-end of his career.
Oscar feels there’s no point in Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) fighting Dmitry Bivol in a rematch in September. He’ll “never beat” him, whether at 168 or 175.
Indeed, De La Hoya thinks it’ll be even more dangerous for Canelo if he fights Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) at 168 because he’ll be “faster” and lighter on his feet.
If Canelo is going to be strategic in choosing his next opponent, he could go in the direction of one of these fighters:
- Edgar Berlanga
- Jermall Charlo
- Caleb Plant
- William Scull
- Christian Mbilli
- Joe Smith Jr
When Oscar was asked who Canelo should fight next, he mentioned his fighter Jaime Munguia, and he said he’d keep pressuring him until that match-up is made.
Munguia has no chance of fighting Canelo because his career record is filled with fluff, and he has no real fan base in the U.S.
Canelo must be strategic in picking next fight
“He dropped him. When you have a fighter hurt, you finish them. That’s what you’re supposed to do. I think that’s what the 50,000 fans that attended the fight live in Guadalajara wanted to see,” said Oscar De La Hoya to the media talking about Canelo Alvarez failing to score the knockout over John Ryder last Saturday night.
“It’s no secret that Canelo is at the tail-end of his career. If anyone tells me otherwise, I think I’m going blind.
“You can call me crazy, but he’s never going to beat Bivol at 175, that’s for sure,” said De La Hoya about Canelo. “At 168, it might be a little more dangerous for him because Bivol will be lighter on his feet and will be faster.
“It’s a difficult situation that Canelo is in because the next fight he takes has to be very, very strategic. We’ll see what his brilliant promoter does for him next.
“I have no clue. Let his brilliant promoter [Eddie Hearn] do what he’s doing,” said De La Hoya when asked where does Canelo go from here. “I have my plan in my head, but that’s for me to know and for you to find out,” said Oscar.
De La Hoya wants Canelo vs. Munguia
“In a split second,” said De La Hoya when asked if he’d put Jaime Munguia in with Canelo if given the opportunity. “What’s stopping it is Canelo not wanting to fight a fellow Mexican, which is kind of absurd because if you’re a fighter, you’re a fighter. You fight anybody that’s on top. You fight anybody who is in your way and is going to create a major fight for you.
“Munguia is right there knocking on his [Canelo] door. Like I said before. If I have to pressure these fighters to fight Munguia, then that’s what I’m going to do. That’s the route I’m going to take by going the mandatory route by beating the guys that Canelo has beaten in order to get that fight with Canelo.
“There’s different ways. You can run, but you can’t hide. We’re going to keep pressing and knocking on the door,” said De La Hoya.
